Subscribe To

Monday, April 4, 2011

"Faithfulness & Gentleness" - My Article in the Southside Messenger

Spirit & Truth # 221

“Fruity Christians:Faithfulness and Gentleness”

By Rev. Greg Smith

Over the past weeks, we’ve talked about the Fruit of the Holy Spirit.Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) says that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”We’ve seen that love and joy are related to one another:joy is the overflow when the heart is filled with love.Peace and patience are also tied together: only when a person is at peace with God and within themselves, can they be patient with others.Kindness and goodness are linked: if there’s somebody in your life that you would like to see turn good, then treat them with kindness.Faithfulness and gentleness are likewise married to one another: when we are faithful with the mission that God gives us, the result is a gentling of violent spirits.

One such account of faithfulness and gentleness working together is found in Acts 9, where God called Ananias to minister to Saul, who had been blinded by a dazzling appearance of Jesus on the Damascus road.Ananias wanted to resist God’s call on the basis that Saul had persecuted the church, even to the point of participating in martyring one of the first deacons.Yet Ananias was faithful to God’s call, and went to Saul’s side, speaking peace and laying hands on him in prayer.The result was both physical and spiritual healing; Saul’s bodily eyes were opened, and the eyes of his soul were illumined by the truth of God.Saul was converted to Christ, allowing the Holy Spirit to change his violent heart to a gentle one.He changed his name to Paul, and became the greatest missionary the world has ever known.

Acts 19:11-20 says that God did many miraculous works at the hands Paul.Though Ephesus was a difficult mission field full of idolatry, witchcraft, and occultic practices, Paul was faithful to share the message of Jesus.The result was that so many Ephesians gave up their occultic practices that they had a book burning, destroying their grimoires and other demonic books.The value of the books that and other occultic tools was 50,000 pieces of silver.The people were gentled by the good news of Jesus, and submitted themselves to the call of God.

This week, as I was preparing a message on faithfulness and gentleness, my heart was broken by a pastor who decided to exercise his own wrath against Muslims, rather than living out the Fruit of the Spirit.You’ve probably heard how the Rev. Terry Jones of Dove Outreach Center (an ironic name, since the dove stands for both peace and for the Holy Spirit) of Gainesville, Florida burned a Koran on March 20.Prior to the burning, the Muslim community begged his forbearance.It seemed that Jones intentionally sought to offend those who pleaded with him to relent.No doubt you’ve heard of last week’s reprisal, how Islamic militants in Afghanistan overran the U.N. building, killing twenty, two of whom they beheaded—all in retribution for the burning.While nothing can vindicate the actions of the Islamic militants, the question I have for Rev. Jones is this:What did you think would happen?Were you demonstrating love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?In what way do you think you were showing the Fruit of the Holy Spirit?

As the Bible shows, the result of a Christian’s faithful demonstration of God’s truth and love is a gentling of people’s hearts.Ananias approached his enemy and called him, “Brother.”When Paul ministered to the Ephesians, he didn’t burn their holy books.Through the power of God, he healed their diseases and shared God’s truth.The result was that demons fled from the power of Christ.Yes, a book burning did result, but the difference is that Paul didn’t destroy their holy books—those who rejected the occult disposed of their own volumes of witchcraft.

The difference between Ephesus and Gainesville couldn’t be more great.In Ephesus, Paul’s faithfulness resulted in the gentling of occultic practitioners.In Gainesville, unfaithfulness to the true Spirit of Christ resulted in a violent uprising on the other side of the globe.My Christian brothers and sisters, I encourage you to share the truth and love of Jesus with anyone who will listen.But as you do, exercise the Fruit of the Spirit.Around the world their may be laws regarding freedom of speech or censorship.There may be laws permitting or forbidding public demonstrations.But against the Fruit of the Spirit there can be no law.

No comments:

Why Is My Blog Called "Love the Word?"

So I was finally convinced to move into the 21st century and start a blog. What to name it?I've never liked those corny preacher-related email addresses like praisethelordimsavedandpreachingforjesus@hotmail.com. (My apologies if that's a real email address.) They seem disingenuous (isn't that a great word? According to the rhymezone.com dictionary it means "not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness.) I'd rather have a title for my blog that says what it is, and means it.

Then it hit me. "Love The Word." What could be more authentic, bona fide, genuine, literal, real, sincere, true, unveigned, unquestionable, and veritable than that?

I Love The Word.This can mean more than one thing, of course.

The Book of John, chapter 1 (NLT) says of Jesus:1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. 14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. So it's quite obvious, isn't it? I love The Word--Jesus Himself, without whom there would be no you, no me, no blog for that matter.

But my blog title means something else as well. I love the word. My kids call me a 'word nerd.' I love words. I love what you can do with them--the impact they can make on people's lives. I love the history of words, both in English and in the other languages I've studied (Latin, Spanish, Greek). As a pastor, I use words as I preach every week, to try to impart the truth of The Word--Jesus. As a writer, I use words to share ideas, entertain, and inspire. So, as a typical 'word nerd' I had to come up with a blog title that truly embodied my affinity for both the Logos and the phrase.

On this blog you'll find my random thoughts. You'll also find a link to "Spirit and Truth," a weekly column I write for the southern Virginia newspaper, The Southside Messenger. In addition, you're likely to find various musings on some of my favorite topics including writing, family, the Christian life, and more. Thanks for stopping in. My hope is that you'll love the word as much as I do.

This Day in History

About Me

I am the pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Scottsburg, Virginia, and have been in ministry over half my life.
I have been published in several newspapers, and write a weekly column entitled "Spirit and Truth" in The Southside Messenger, which has a circulation in southside Virginia.
I have four beautiful children and three wonderful grandbabies, some of whom live with me.